Comic Review: Bodies #3 – Shahara Explodes and So Does a Car

After two really interesting and intriguing issues, Si Spencer’s Bodies, published by Vertigo, is beginning to come together. Sort of. The four timelines are starting to connect in ways that I was definitely not expecting.

In the present day, Shahara’s timeline gets a little explosive. Literally: A car bomb and a defense of her patriotism. In 1940, we learn about Whiteman’s disturbing past (what a perv). The last two sections of this issue take place in 2050 and 1890, and they collide in a way that I wasn’t really expecting. I don’t want to be too spoilery (and I’m still not 100% sure what’s going on), but a strange serum allows Detective Maplewood to let the walls between time periods bleed and learns things about all of the characters’ timelines. I think. Again, the end of this issue was a little confusing.

The characters have become fully fledged in just three short issues, especially considering that they only get a few pages each issue. Spencer’s writing and the various artists’ distinct illustrations have done a fantastic job of developing these characters.

I enjoy all of these characters for different reasons, but Shahara’s pages really stuck out to me this time. She’s working really hard to assert herself and her identity in this issue. I think, because of this and the fact that her timeline is the present day, she’s the most relatable. She has no shame or fear for who she is and demands respect from not only the world she lives in currently but from her roots as well; she knows her imam is sexist and refuses to speak to him on those grounds. Shahara feels fully fleshed and has become my new favorite character this issue.

Our four investigators are still really different, but they might be even more interconnected than they at first seemed with the introduction of the same body in all four timelines. Or at least the serum that gets introduced in this issue will force them to be. This issue was a whirlwind of character development and the paranormal. You know I’ll still be here next issue.

I’m a mismatched socks, overflowing bookshelves, pot of coffee a day, Sonic Screwdriver, paint all over my fingers, rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock kind of girl with alopecia. I am a huge bibliophile. For more reviews, visit my book blog at caughtreadhanded.wordpress.com.